SR+ Delivery with Scratch | Tesla would not fix | Poll Q

[hcdavis3]

I went to pickup my black Model 3 this morning and there were a few swirls, a rub mark from shipping, a dust spot on the trunk lid, and a couple of deeper scratches visible in the cleanly detailed car. Most paint damage was on the bumper. They said they could swap out the bumper with a painted one that was in stock if I would wait. After a while, they said they were trying to buff things out instead. They offered to Uber me to work and Uber me back before closing when everything would be fixed. Okay, but when I arrived back there was still at least one deep scratch and maybe more, but the snow was coming down hard in Denver to know for sure.

I asked that they note the scratch on a Due Bill and they said no worries as I could return the car within 7 days. I said all things being equal, I would like it in writing. They said it could be e-mailed tomorrow. I said I am happy to wait so I can get it tonight before I leave with the car for a long drive home.

After I signed everything, activated insurance coverage, ACHed final payment, and was killing time in the car pairing my cell phone, he came to say that I would get no Due Bill and they would not fix the scratch EVER. I could take the car AS IS or pound sand. I politely said I will not take the car under those circumstances and walked. There was no attempt to make good on fixing the scratch or even apologize. Basically, TOUGH SH*T, take it or leave it. At the Denver delivery center today, Tim was my delivery contact, Frank is in charge of sales, Cameron worked my delivery on the phone, and Habib did the upsell to the SR+ and all were very nice in person and professional.

AMAZING, Tesla is a hot mess of a dumpster fire. I have bought many cars and this would have been my 7th Tesla purchase. Never, have I had any car company refuse to fix damage on a new vehicle. I had to explain to my son that he would not be getting a Tesla and can wait for a hand-me-down one. Bye, bye Tesla as that was my last visit to your sales department.

Attached is a photo of the scratch in question. There may have been the other scratches too as some of the damage was pretty bad, but the snow was thick and I didn't think it would be an issue to get Tesla to agree to fix things. Still would take the car with a Due Bill noting the scratches. They will probably flip VIN 5YJ3E1EA3KF296951 to an expecting buyer on a snowy weekend in Denver so caveat emptor.

View attachment 391772 View attachment 391779

I’m mystified by that. They do not impart any good will with an attitude like that. And don’t they think they’re gonna get flamed somewhere for this?
Outrageous IMHO.

 

[Ev_guy]

Reeler,
your calculations of 20K saving does not seem to be correct. You still get 3875 for model 3 as federal tax credit. Also, are you saying 5K state rebate only available to bolt and not to model 3?

Anyway, I believe bolt does not have 7 day return policy, so enjoy the bolt...

 

[Reeler]

Chevy has the full $7500 federal tax rebate for another day. Tesla is half that. Either car qualifies for the $5000 state benefit. Math is right.

I have a Bolt already and like the ride. No blemishes or defect in the car on a similar inspection to the Tesla.

 

[Goodtohave]

That is a shame, I picked mine up last night, they noted and photographed every minor paint flaw (which is normal unfortunately on these cars) and one tiny chip and one tiny dent. Said they would take care of it. Not that I will bother, prefer a chip to repaint.

Ironically I do paint protection film and wrapped the entire car today. Was quite happy with the paint, better then the others I have done, getting better by the day.

I asked how the customers are and he could not believe how easygoing I was considering what I do for a living.

He said people have been a nightmare, one guy refused a car that day. He nitpicked for hours then refused because the rubber door mouldings were uneven.

There is a local Tesla message board that gives a checklist of flaws to look for ....give me a break.

I could tell the people at the service center were pretty fed up, I would be too if I was a loyal employee and they announced they were closing all the retails stores to save my salary, then changed there mind when investors and the internet freaked out.

Having said that if I was treated the way you were I would tell them to $&@ themselves and walk.

I hope Tesla begins to appreciate the human relationships needed in this business.

 

[OCR1]

Your experience sounds awful. Tesla has a lot of young employees who are not always adept at handling stress and sometimes they do very inappropriate things.

I have noticed an extreme reluctance to provide customers with a written copy of due bill items. They just won’t do it. I had this issue with my delivery. A day before delivery I received a call to confirm the configuration. They had agreed to give me an upgrade to 19” wheels on my car but of course the car did not have the 19” wheels on them. I said no problem just send me a copy of the due bill showing the 19” wheels being due. They told me they can’t send me anything in writing but don’t worry about it because it will show in their system as being due. Yeah right.

So I said no problem just send me an email confirming that Tesla will upgrade my wheels after delivery. Again they said they couldn’t do that. I said I’m going to need that before I can take delivery of the car. About 20 minutes later I got an email from the manager confirming my wheel upgrades.

Of course now it’s been ten days since I picked up the car and nobody can tell me when the wheels will be ready, and all calls go to voicemail at the service center. Nothing is ever easy with this company, but those who are persistent enough eventually get things sorted out.

 

[Reeler]

I swung by Tesla today since I was down the street from where I was getting my Bolt. The frunk mat I purchased and returned with the car, had not been reversed on my credit card. BTW: The ACH downpayment will take 2-3 weeks to get back into my account by ACH. Credit card deposit will take 30 days. At least according to him asking around.

I asked one of the guys about the situation and it was just a financial decision he said. After 4 hours of buffing, they didn't want to waste any more money (presumably on a worthless customer). He bluntly said that they will and did pass the car off to another buyer this morning who presumably didn't notice the issue.

I asked why they don't like to have Due Bills and he confirmed that they are very much avoided. I asked if that was to game the JD Powers initial quality rankings and he didn't know, but thought that made sense.

He bluntly could care less, it was like I was at McDonalds ordering a Big Mac and a little mold on the bun is to be expected so why was I so uptight. Although a new Tesla is a precious treat for us customers, to them it is just a burger they flipped.

 

[irev210]

I swung by Tesla today since I was down the street from where I was getting my Bolt. The frunk mat I purchased and returned with the car, had not been reversed on my credit card. BTW: The ACH downpayment will take 2-3 weeks to get back into my account by ACH. Credit card deposit will take 30 days. At least according to him asking around.

I asked one of the guys about the situation and it was just a financial decision he said. After 4 hours of buffing, they didn't want to waste any more money (presumably on a worthless customer). He bluntly said that they will and did pass the car off to another buyer this morning who presumably didn't notice the issue.

I asked why they don't like to have Due Bills and he confirmed that they are very much avoided. I asked if that was to game the JD Powers initial quality rankings and he didn't know, but thought that made sense.

He bluntly could care less, it was like I was at McDonalds ordering a Big Mac and a little mold on the bun is to be expected so why was I so uptight. Although a new Tesla is a precious treat for us customers, to them it is just a burger they flipped.

This sums up my delivery experience.

Thankfully, I didn't have any major issues with my car but if I did, no way would the people working at the SC do anything. They were laundry list of not nice words.

I'd say workers at McDonald's are better trained.

Elon should shut down all sales and focus on people that deliver cars. It's embarrassing. I don't blame the sales guys either. The process is unbelievably broken.

 

[OCR1]

Most of these problems are easily fixed by hiring the right executive leadership to put systems and training in place. The problem has been the excessive turnover of the executive staff. With so many people coming and going it’s been difficult for them to get any consistency in their delivery and support processes. Nobody stays long enough to make a difference.

 

[fbitz777]

Chevy has the full $7500 federal tax rebate for another day. Tesla is half that. Either car qualifies for the $5000 state benefit. Math is right.

I have a Bolt already and like the ride. No blemishes or defect in the car on a similar inspection to the Tesla.

I bought my second Bolt today for 33k FULLY LOADED...and I was in and out in half hour...did not even look at it before driving off...did not have to wire money..hell even my driver license had expired and they still gave me the car.

They gave me 23.5k on my '17 Bolt trade in so I am out zero after Fed and State Tax Credit.

Only issue is it was 240 miles away in Maryland (Carb State) but that was the range of the Bolt so did not have charge halfway.

What puzzles me is I see tens of Teslas each day but in two years I have not seen another Bolt...And I am 3 miles from both dealers.

 

[RDoc]

Tesla can sell every car they produce, almost irrespective of condition. Why should they change anything? They have the car and you don't.

 

[sreams]

I bought my second Bolt today for 33k FULLY LOADED...and I was in and out in half hour...did not even look at it before driving off...did not have to wire money..hell even my driver license had expired and they still gave me the car.

They gave me 23.5k on my '17 Bolt trade in so I am out zero after Fed and State Tax Credit.

Only issue is it was 240 miles away in Maryland (Carb State) but that was the range of the Bolt so did not have charge halfway.

What puzzles me is I see tens of Teslas each day but in two years I have not seen another Bolt...And I am 3 miles from both dealers.

You want a frank answer? You may have had a pleasant delivery experience, but most people simply do not see the Bolt as being a car that is worth nearly $40K. Equivalent ICE vehicles are in the $20K range. On the other hand, while the Tesla experience can be erratic, the car directly compares to ICE vehicles at the same or even higher price.

 

[Reeler]

You want a frank answer? You may have had a pleasant delivery experience, but most people simply do not see the Bolt as being a car that is worth nearly $40K. Equivalent ICE vehicles are in the $20K range. On the other hand, while the Tesla experience can be erratic, the car directly compares to ICE vehicles at the same or even higher price.

My Bolt is $20K after rebates. You may be of the opinion that a Tesla is far better, but when driving my Model 3, I miss the heated steering wheel, Android Auto / Apple Carplay, cloth seats, blind spot warning lights in the side view mirrors, hatchback, real buttons, etc. When driving the Bolt, I miss things about the Model 3 like lane keeping and adaptive cruise (an option on the Bolt, but not mine).

 

[cwerdna]

most people simply do not see the Bolt as being a car that is worth nearly $40K.

"Most people" probably aren't aware that Bolts are being heavily discounted and that the Federal tax credit on them is $7500 until 4/1/2019.

Heck, on a Bolt FB group the other day, some guy was asking about a used '17 Bolt w/60K miles for $24K, which is a lousy deal given the discounting on new ones. Many folks tried to make clear to him. That guy was obviously confused as he incorrectly said "I always get a refund so the tax thing doesn’t affect me regardless". We had to explain to him it has nothing to do w/refund or not but rather tax liability. Hope he wakes up and realizes in time.

When I bought my Bolt at end of Jan 2019, I got mine for over $6K below MSRP and several K below invoice. The tax credit was obviously still $7500 on GM EVs/PHEVs. I only became aware of the heavy discounting thru some Leaf FB groups. At the time, the cheapest 3 shipping was the MR for at least $44K (IIRC) minus $3750 tax credit. And, I don't buy black cars and the color I'd want is white (another $2K). There are numerous other reasons why I'd ruled out the 3 besides price.

I do agree that Bolts at MSRP is currently somewhat absurd, given what available 3 options there are now, and will be more absurd once tax credit on GM EVs/PHEVs falls to $3750 on April 1, 2019 to be the same as what Tesla's is at now. And, to be clear, there's no US Federal tax "rebate" on EVs/PHEVs. It's a tax credit.

Reeler is incorrect about adaptive cruise control being an option on Bolt. It's not available at all. (I have a '19 Bolt Premier trim now w/driver confidence II, infotainment package and DC FC inlet.)

 

[fbitz777]

"Most people" probably aren't aware that Bolts are being heavily discounted and that the Federal tax credit on them is $7500 until 4/1/2019.

Heck, on a Bolt FB group the other day, some guy was asking about a used '17 Bolt w/60K miles for $24K, which is a lousy deal given the discounting on new ones.

Reeler is incorrect about adaptive cruise control being an option on Bolt. It's not available at all. (I have a '19 Bolt Premier trim now w/driver confidence II, infotainment package and DC FC inlet.)

Yeah they gave me 23.5k on my '17 Bolt with 16k miles which I thought was "fair" especially as a trade-in where I save on sales taxes (only pay sales tax on the trade up value)
About adaptive cruise control you are correct...It does however keep track of the distance to the car in front and warns pretty strongly. It is also pretty good at warning about pedestrians. I know it has emergency braking but never had to engage it in two years.

 

[OCR1]

The Bolt was a competitive alternative to the Model 3 prior to the SR/SR+ being announced and the prices of all models dropping on February 28th. I vaguely considered buying a Bolt when the cheapest Tesla was the MR at mid $40’s. But after Tesla dropped their pricing, the Bolt seemed almost silly to me, and that’s even with the full $7,500 tax credit. Once the credit gets cut in half I think the Bolt is dead. I don’t see a 2020 Bolt in GM’s future.

 

[abasile]

The Bolt was a competitive alternative to the Model 3 prior to the SR/SR+ being announced and the prices of all models dropping on February 28th. I vaguely considered buying a Bolt when the cheapest Tesla was the MR at mid $40’s. But after Tesla dropped their pricing, the Bolt seemed almost silly to me, and that’s even with the full $7,500 tax credit. Once the credit gets cut in half I think the Bolt is dead. I don’t see a 2020 Bolt in GM’s future.

For $20k net, the Bolt is not a bad buy. No Supercharger access and no Autopilot feature would be dealbreakers for us, but for someone on a budget who doesn't need those things, the Bolt is a practical if boring hatchback with decent range.

The issue with GM is that they don't have a truly compelling EV and they're having to take what appears to be a substantial loss on each Bolt. As the shift from ICE to EV picks up steam, I think GM is going to struggle, and I would not be at all surprised to see another GM bankruptcy within the next decade.

After further thought, I've decided to change my vote to "yes" on the OP's poll. I would have accepted delivery of that car, scratches and all, but I would have taken photos on delivery day and immediately started an email "paper trail" with Tesla. I'd have waited several days, past the end of the frenetic quarter-end deliveries, to actually request an appointment to fix the paint. If Tesla refused to fix it, I'd probably whine about it online and tweet Elon, but honestly I'd probably capitulate by asking for some free touch-up paint and I'd move on with life. And I'd have a Model 3 rather than a Bolt.

 

[jkoya]

I like my P3D, but my delivery experience was so bad, I decided to move on from Tesla for my next car. Will most likely trade our 2016 Volt for a Taycan.

 

[Missile Toad]

The message that they would not document damaged paint or fix it came from the sales manager (Frank or Nick was his name I think) I was told. Tim (delivery guy) groused that they had already spent 4 hours buffing the paint damage that day and had had enough of me.

Elevate to whom? Tweet EM himself? As far as I could tell, I was at the top of the management chain in Denver at least. I wasted probably 8 hours to purchase this car and the thought of navigating a customer service call center line to get higher in the food chain is not something I care to do as a customer.

Still own 3 Teslas, but I will never purchase another product from them.

I tweeted to ElonMusk about 20 times when the Tesla parts local staff failed to give ANY feedback about part availability. 3 weeks later, I located the part on my own, two states over. I'm not sure if tweeting helped, but it sure didn't hurt.

 

[evJOULE]

Would you have taken delivery AS IS with no fix from Tesla given I don't need another car? NO WAY, even if it was my only car!!!

The only thing I would have done differently is to make sure that Tesla management at HQ gets the full story. The only thing I wish the OP would consider is to help the rest of the Tesla community, know it is still not too late to do that. I can't imaging anyone buying a new car would be treated like this, let alone someone that is purchasing his third car from the same company. This type of thing should be filed in the "Things you absolutely don't do to your customers" list. It shouldn't take an experienced sales person to know that.

 

[Reeler]

Would you have taken delivery AS IS with no fix from Tesla given I don't need another car? NO WAY, even if it was my only car!!!

The only thing I would have done differently is to make sure that Tesla management at HQ gets the full story. The only thing I wish the OP would consider is to help the rest of the Tesla community, know it is still not too late to do that. I can't imaging anyone buying a new car would be treated like this, let alone someone that is purchasing his third car from the same company. This type of thing should be filed in the "Things you absolutely don't do to your customers" list. It shouldn't take an experienced sales person to know that.

Try calling Tesla and getting to management. Currently it routes you to the delivery staff in your state through the phone system. When I tried, I ended up with the same ding dongs that created the situation. Management turn over has so much churn, not sure anyone you would get to would even care as they blast out their resume to find their new gig.

We just have to accept that the Teslas have many exclusive features, but the company is dumpster fire. After buying 6 Teslas, the 7th attempted purchase cleared this faboi's Koolaid fog. Might switch back to my Model 3 after driving the Bolt for a while. The adaptive cruise and lane keeping (aka "Autopilot") is definitely a killer feature, but the rest is meh to me anyway.